queensland is australia's sugar country.es, adjacent to the barrier reef, vast cane fields adorn the land. at night, during the harvest season, burning cane fields light up the sky. a tradition passed down through the generations. but now the mostly family—owned sugar farms here stand accused by the queensland state government of damaging the reefs water quality with run—off from their land. this picture, taken by nasa earlier this year shows a plume of flood water and sediment washing out towards the reef. many farmers are furious that being blamed. it's bloody ridiculous! it'sjust are furious that being blamed. it's bloody ridiculous! it's just that — they are appealing to people who don't have a natural clue. and if people in the city are upset by me saying that, i'll say it again. you're judging saying that, i'll say it again. you'rejudging us when saying that, i'll say it again. you're judging us when you don't have a bloody clue. look at it. we're not allowed touch about. there you go, that's what it can look like. and

further north, in queensland, they are facing dangerous conditions right now. all hands on deck. there are evacuations in popular holiday destinations in the state of queensland. so while firefighters in new south wales, they are still battling many, many fires, having something a respite, their collea g u es something a respite, their colleagues to the north are finding conditions very, very tough indeed. and we are hearing that queensland has drafted in firefighters from as far away as new zealand, because the dangers up there are so severe. phil, thank you very much for that. let's get some of the day's other news: the former treasurer to the vatican, cardinal george pell, has been granted a right to a final appeal in australia's high court against his convictions for child sexual abuse. in march he was found guilty of attacking two choirboys in the 1990s, and sentenced to six years in prison. zimbabwe's central bank has introduced new banknotes. it is an attempt to ease an acute cash shortage, but there are fears it could fuel inflation, in a country where

also on the program the australian state of queensland is under threats from potentially catastrophic bushfires authorities warn of fog weather and high winds mean the worst could still be to come along the country's east coast. i'm calling aspen welcome to the program we begin in bolivia where opposition senator john naenae on yes has declared herself interim president following the resignation of former leader abel were alice the constitutional court has endorsed her even though there were not enough lawmakers present in country to appoint or or office is currently in exile in mexico where he was granted asylum after resigning on sunday he has condemned honestly saying she has instigated a coup. yes we could libya's opposition chance the presidential palace is finally there is up to 14 years but in the most controversial of circumstances and i knew as has bitterly opposed to countries rula since she entered living politics over a decade ago now in the midst of a political crisis the senate vice president has declared itself the country's new president. thank you to everyone in boliv

also coming up the australian state of queensland under threat from uncontrolled and potentially catastrophic bushfires already sworn on whether in times when this could mean the worst is still to come along the country's east coast. i'm called aspen welcome to the program we begin in bolivia where opposition senator on yes has declared herself interim president following the resignation of former leader able. the constitutional court as endorsed on yes even though there were not enough lawmakers present in congress to appoint her after her announcement clashes broke out in the political capital of pos police fired tear gas and angry murali supporters trying to reach the congressional building thousands of his backers have been on the streets of the capital calling for his return 'd. now morale is currently in exile in mexico where he was granted asylum after resigning on sunday he's condemned anya saying she has instigated a coup. if. yes we could believe his opposition chance the presidential palace is finally days up to 14 years but in the most controversial of circumstances ninian irony i

how stretched are the resources now in new south wales and queensland? to hold back these fires? well, many of these fires are burning uncontrolled. so what the authorities are doing, it's almost like a military style operation. they are having to strategically plan to protect life and property as best they can. now, hundreds of firefighters are on the ground. they are being supported by a squadron of water bombing aircraft. weary firefighters, once again, having to fight fires today before the onslaught expected tomorrow. new zealand has sent in reinforcements for australia and there is a discussion between fire authorities here and their counterparts in the united states and canada, too, about perhaps getting reinforcements from there as well. and once again that gives you an indication just how serious it is, just how thinly this emergency line is being stretched with so many fires and the forecast being so grim for the next 24—48 hours. injusta injust a few in just a few minutes we will bring you another date from the new south wales rural fire servi

there are more tham 120 bushfires across queensland and new south wales.e areas in and around sydney are now graded maximum level of danger. these areas highlighted in red are all under threat. the darker shade are at the highest level. and the smoke is so bad you can see it from space. that is the situation in new south wales. the danger in queensland is less severe — but toxic smoke is affecting brisbane. to illustrate the severity — we're told air quality there is now worse than beijing which is ten times the size. and we have this stark advice from the fire service... if you call for help, you may not get it. and here's a spokesperson. a lot of these fires have been burning for weeks now. and we have more thani burning for weeks now. and we have more than 1 million burning for weeks now. and we have more thani million hectares of burning for weeks now. and we have more than 1 million hectares of this a light still. and our concern is where the people in front of these fires. if we think back to last friday, but those fires did — they we re friday, but

australia escapes the worst of the bushfires — but the threat still remains in queensland and new southes. the venice mayor declares disaster as the city is hit by its highest tide in 50 years. and we speak to actors christian bale and matt damon — who reveal the truth behind hollywood auditions. fighting for survivial on the high street — as christmas approaches we look at the global crisis in retail. a warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme, have you started christmas shopping? if so, are you heading to the high street or shopping online? as amazon becomes the worlds biggest retailer tell us what you think about the crisis on the high street. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. the impeachment inquiry in washington is about to go public. until now, the testimony has been heard behind closed doors. house democrats are looking at whether president trump abused his power by witholding military aid from ukraine, while pressing for an investigation into the bidens. mr trump calls the inquiry a ‘hoax'.

queensland more than 90 blazes are burning out of control many of them in drought hit areas some of the fires are so intense that they've created their own weather systems including lightning firefighters say the bushfires are being whipped up by strong winds. so it was scenes on the eastern coast of australia as bushfires turned to sky an apocalyptic shade of orange for residents and wildlife is an early warning of approaching danger. many communities in the path of the fires have been ordered to evacuate in other areas people are taking no chances. and nearing the end of the. fire crews are battling dozens of inferno is raging across queensland in new south wales the states are experiencing a long winning drought and it's feared the fires will continue to burn unless rain finally comes forth or just say of a hotter and faster than anything they've seen before. unfortunately we are in uncharted territory this afternoon we've never seen this many followers concurrently mergence the warning alert level we've got 94. walls 50 of them remind can time. satellite images show you the scal

there could be more worse to come at the moment basically all eyes are on queensland because it's very hot there and authorities are warning that there could be a change in wind direction and that could fan the flames of existing fires and even spread new ones so yeah the worst could be still to come there is will judge here from australia i mean you're familiar with the risks and the fire risk facing the country i mean fires are nothing new what has made these ones though so bath well astray is hot and dry everyone knows that but where these fires. isn't an area that's had prolonged sustained drought over many many years and and when there's been no rain that leaves behind land that is very very dry you've got shrub land grosse trees that's and you combine that with very hot weather lawyer humidity high winds this is just perfect for bushfires and unfortunately that's that's what's happened they've basically it's in an area that's had very bad drought of the many years that if one local fire official saying that these fires could be out of control for months climate change is only goi

on the golcoast, a city in the state of queensland, unspoiled coastline meets native bushland, making it prime location for urban development. but as consequence, deforestation is increasing, destroying or leavin fragments the habitats of one of animal: the koala. well-loved >> they are in imminent danger of becoming extinct, becoming endangered. the population is doing this, it'not doing this, it's not doing this, the population is doing this and every day that goes by means there's one less koala. >> reporter: al mucci, from the dreamworld wildlife foundatinp, a norofit that supports conservation, research and education in the wild, has been working with koalas for more than three decades. he says over the past ten years he's seen the koala population 10,000 to less th00.indle from it's that statistic that drove tcci to start a world-fi pilot program, the living koala genome bank project, that aims to address the increasing threat l local koala extinction due to habitats and disease and save the few koalas left for futurtie genes. >> when you've got five koalas here, ten koas there,

so while new south wales can breathe a bit of a sigh of relief today, further north in queensland, it's very much dependent, phil, on what the weather brings in the coming days. well, the forecast is, right across eastern australia in the coming days, it will be warm and windy again. today here in sydney, the toxic haze that blanketed much of the city yesterday has gone. it's pretty breezy today so relatively cool as well so a bit of respite for the people of sydney who endured that catastrophic fire warning yesterday but spare a thought for other communities elsewhere in new south wales and queensland. they continue to be terrorised by often giant walls of flame and it's worth pointing out that with fires burning in queensland and new south wales, many are out of control and there is a feeling that the next few days could bring yet more perilous conditions. also making news today: the first public hearings in the trump impeachment inquiry begin on wednesday. until now, the testimony has been heard behind closed doors. democrats in the house of representatives are looking at whether the

a state of emergency is declared in new south wales and now queensland, with warnings that bushfires in australia could pose a catastrophic threat to sydney. bolivia's president evo morales announces his resignation after weeks of protests over last month's disputed elections. cyclone bulbul rips through coastal areas of bangladesh and india, killing at least 13 people and forcing more than two million out of their homes. we start with breaking news this hour. police in hong kong have used live ammunition at pro—democracy demonstrations and shot one protester at close range. protesters had called for a general strike on monday and have been trying to disrupt transport in hong kong by setting up barricades. shocking pictures of the incident in the sai wan ho district were live streamed on social media. an unarmed demonstrator can be seen approaching an officer, and then falling to the ground after being shot at close local media are reporting that he is in critical condition in hospital. letters across to hong kong now. martin yip is there. —— let us. what are the latest details what

queensland, one of the tightest correlations. we will continue to see the seasons becoming longer and longer and more severe as time goes on unfortunately. >> ivan, thank you. >>> one of the world avenues most dangered animals faces a threat. they are in danger already due to deforestation. as fires burn and deforestation increases, the population of orangutans. >> a grinding battle deep in the jungle. firefighters on the indonesian island of borneo struggle to control a tpoefrt fire that threatens a national park. this is just brutal, brutal work they are doing here. toxic smoke in the tropical heat. the rain forests in indonesia are burning. firefighters have been battling this blaze for weeks. and at its peak this summer, there were thousands of similar fires in other parts of the country. the fighting on the ground and in the air. these are aerial firefighters. right now we are on a water-bombing mission. helicopters dump giant buckets of water on the flames. bombs away! this crisis was ignited by man. you think humans starte

a state of emergency was declared in queensland as well. this crisis spans queensland as well.okesman told the bbc that the person who was shot is currently undergoing surgery and is in critical condition. and it was mike‘s turn to face the music last night — as he became the latest contestant to waltz out of the strictly ballroom. he may not have won the glitterball, but he‘s done breakfast proud — and has to go down in history as the best last dance on strictly ever — even getting claudia and tess tojoin him in the conga. he nearly lost test as well. she nearly fell. it is hard dance to do wearing heels. returning now to one of our main stories. when eight—year—old alfie dingley started taking a cannabis—based medication to help control his epilepsy, his mother saw an improvement in his condition. as we‘ve been hearing, two medicines containing cannabis are today being recommended for use on the nhs, for the first time. alfie‘s mum hannah deacon is with us now. lovely to see you again and thank you for coming in. what was your initial reaction? i know these drugs are quite sp

the state the new south wales alone are really cool to choose day 50 more plus in the state of queensland and right over on the other side of australia in western australia fires are burning there right now as well including some within the city limits of that state capital on here just 18 kilometers away from sydney's paul the bridge this very much within the sydney suburbs and you can see there was a fire here 3 hours ago that just about got in top of it now but right opposite people's homes just across the other side of the road i was talking to one of the residents an hour ago and he told me he just got home from work just over 3 hours ago now to see flames shooting right to the top of the tree about 5 metres high he says the. the authorities the bar guys got on top of it very very quickly but they're still here now making sure there aren't still some flights allowed. the afghan government has announced it will release 3 top taliban leaders in exchange for 2 hostages american kevin king an australian to him at the wakes were kidnapped from kabul else hired an american university in 20

any resources the queensland asks, they will get. we are confident the queensland to continue on. this has been something that is quite traumatic to many of those in the industry, the vast majority of participants in those industries find this abhorrent. it is against their morals and their culture, and they are hurting from this as well. we expect -- we expect the states to live up to their responsibilities as they have in managing animal welfare in this country. we don't need another bureaucracy. we need the bureaucracy to do their job. >> as remembrance day approaches, the government has made a new promise, remembrance all around the year. more recognition of australian veterans including a pin that any veteran can wear so they can be recognized in society amongst people and businesses >> the member can begin his question again. the clock will restart. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my question to the minister for veterans defense personnel, next month on november 11th, australia will mark remembrance day. can the minister advise what this government is doing to recognize australia

australian authorities declare a state of emergency in new south wales and now queensland — after warningshfires in the country could also pose a ‘catastrophic‘ threat to sydney. bolivia's president evo morales has announced his resignation after weeks of protests over last month's disputed elections. the announcement came after the head of the armed forces called on him to step down. and this story is trending on bbc.com: it's the heavyweight contest in the english premier league between the two title favourites liverpool and manchester city. the reds won it 3—1, which puts them eight points clear at the top of the table. current champions manchester city are just fourth in the league. time now to go live to singapore for asia business report. alibaba ‘s aliba ba ‘s swift alibaba ‘s swift sales. china's online shopping bonanza gets a superstar launch as it gets under way. british still‘s rescue. how the eye chronic uk company is said to be snapped up by a chinese group. hello and welcome. we start with online retail because today is the 11th of november which means it is alibaba ‘s single

because of the fires which have devastated large parts of new south wales and queensland. homes, and sent haze into sydney, australia's largest city. the bbc‘s phil mercer is there. demonstrations have been occurring in towns and cities. they are saying that climate change is making the wires more intense. much of the anger is directed towards the prime minister scott morrison. doing too little while the country burdens. earlier we spoke to a young woman from northern new south wales who lost her home in a bush fire. over 40 lost her home in a bush fire. over a0 metres high wall of flames fire, spitting embers, amber attacks, balls of fire, it wasn't just a bush fire, it was a firestorm. 0ver balls of fire, it wasn't just a bush fire, it was a firestorm. over 80 houses have been lost in my community. this is climate change, this is the climate crisis, we are feeling the impacts from it right now. we need desperate and drastic climate action. the mood here is one of defiance and also a mood of angen of defiance and also a mood of anger, frustration and despair, especially a

dozens of severe blazes are burning in queensland and new south wales.ek — and conditions are likely to worsen later in the week, with more hot and windy weather forecast. phil mercer reports. conditions in new south wales have eased following tuesday's catastrophic warning, the toxic haze that smothered sydney is gone, but still these fires are burning, they are extremely intense across eastern australia was not dozens of blazes are burning, many of them out of control. it had been a very dangerous day in the state of queensland. communities there had been evacuated. it has been very warm, the wind has been erratic, and thatis warm, the wind has been erratic, and that is these factors that have conspired to make conditions in queensland so very dangerous. 0n the other side of the continent, in western australia, there have been bushfire emergencies in the city of geraldton. back here in the east, the forecast for the next few days is not good. hot and windy conditions are expected. what this region badly needs is rain, but the forecast is showing very l

a state of emergency is declared in queensland and new south wales.ritain falls silent to mark armistice day and remember the fallen. last post plays. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news... can anyone stop liverpool? they are now eight points clear at the top of the premier league, after beating manchester city 3—1. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. nigel farage has said his brexit party won't now contest conservative—held seats in next month's elections. in what is being seen as a boost for borisjohnson, mr farage said he doesn't want anti—brexit parties to win the election. he's standing down candidates in more than 300 consitutences in more than 300 consituencies where the tories won at the last election. instead, the brexit party say they'll concentrate all their efforts on labour—held seats. 0ur political correspondent tom barton is in hartlepool, where mr farage made the announcement in the last hour. just tell us more about what he has been saying? well, and, this is significant. nigel farage had been asking th

there are dozens of blazes across new south wales and queensland. authorities have predicted catastrophic conditions on tuesday. a state of emergency has been declared in both states. the head of the rural fire service has warned that the fire danger will increase in the coming hours. we still have 52 fires burning gci’oss we still have 52 fires burning across new south wales. 30 of those are uncontained, and we've got 13 at watch and act alert level. we are certainly starting to see an increase in fire activity, and therefore the fire danger is increasing accordingly. the reality is conditions will simply continue to get worse and to deteriorate over the coming hours, and particularly into this afternoon, when the combination of the hotter temperatures, the drier atmosphere and the strengthening winds all come together to drive fire behaviour. 0ur correspondent shaima khalil joins us from sydney. good to talk to you. i think it is 1pm in the afternoon there. what is the latest? well, the main danger is, as you have heard, going to be focused on the

through thursday the threat of those fires will actually increase into queensland this is new south wales more than 50 homes have been damaged or destroyed because of these fires is actually a state of emergency for this entire week across new south wales as these fires continue to rage now as i say through thursday that increases that fire risk into queensland it begins to ease some water into new south wales but remember that just dozens and dozens of fires that are burning we've got cooler weather down towards the south particularly cross into tasmania 15 degrees in hobart as we go into friday but very warm into western australia 39 is a high temperature in puff. since its inception in 1961 the kuwait fund has been supporting people's livelihoods in over 100 countries by funding projects in the rape sectors. ranging from infrastructure to health education. these initiatives ultimately help to eradicate poverty. and promote sustainable development. watching al-jazeera let's take a look at the top stories right now on israeli air strikes in gaza have killed 7 palestinians taking th

sean thank you very much many of the funds that have been running cross new south wales on in the queensland and western australia on tuesday have been to what i call emergency level that means authorities have been telling people that at that point it's too late to leave their homes they to hunker down and wait for what's called the fire front to possibly was because if i try and escape if i try to get in there cause you trouble i put myself a right to risk is the 1st time this much of australia has been under what lead called a catastrophic level of fire danger and it won't be for some alice before we know where the lives being lost. a prominent cambodian opposition politician is not with germany's ambassador a day after he was released from house arrest him soca welcome christian berger to his home in phnom penh he still faces treason charges and is banned from politics and from leaving the country the cambodian government spent facing increasing international pressure over its crackdown on the opposition. once again broken out in chile with riot police firing tear gas and water cannon at

mostly in northern new south wales and parts of queensland. in the north, all the way here to sydney and further south. it is also reported that here in sydney on tuesday, the city will face a catastrophic fire warning for the first time ever. as you say, at least three people have been killed, 150 homes have been destroyed and the fair is things could get much worse. “— the fair is things could get much worse. —— the fear is. thank you. it isa it is a 12am. good morning to you. -- 12 it is a 12am. good morning to you. —— 12 minutes past eight. the uk will fall silent at 11 o'clock this morning as part of the remembrance sunday commemorations, as people honour those who lost their lives because of war. the two minute silence will be marked by the firing of guns from the king's troop on horse guards parade. brea kfast‘s graham satchell is there. good morning. yes, this is where the vengeance will gather over the next couple of hours. we are expecting 10,000 of them together here. they will walk up them together here. they will walk up to the to

temperatures are fanning flames closer to sydney's outskirts of the rest of new south wales and queensland are also under a warning we will continue to keep you posted on that situation as are the headlines keep it here on al-jazeera more news to come inside story as it next. take a tissue of hundreds of foley was to a tropical. one when a student is to kate's the secretive sick accused of abuse violence in fiji. on al-jazeera. free but within limits cambodia's opposition leader is released from house arrest about his colleagues face hurdles as they try to return from exile can they maintain pressure on the prime minister despite a government crackdown this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program i'm the stasi attain cambodia's prime minister hun sen has silenced nearly all voices of dissent in recent years his government has shut down independent media and dissolved the main opposition cambodian national rescue party or c. an r.p. now a prominent say an r.p. leader has been freed off to a year of house arrest but kemp sock.

new south wales but i leave immediately warning has been issued for several areas in the state of queensland the outbreak of bushfires on australia's east coast has already claimed 3 lives and destroyed more than 150 homes firefighters say it will take weeks before they can get these fires out andrew thomas has more from sydney. it's a beautiful day in sydney on wednesday 25 degrees celsius very light winds and no smoke in the air the complete contrast to what we describe as catastrophic weather conditions on tuesday temperatures in the high thirty's very high winds and lots of smoke in this city as well not catastrophic conditions doesn't necessarily mean there's going to be a catastrophe though the authorities are saying when they use that word is that when fires take hold in those conditions they can lead to a catastrophe because fires spread much much quicker than authorities generally can get on top of them and there's a real threat to life on the certainly was on tuesday at one stage more than 24 hours across the state of new south wales alone that were out of control and directly thre

wales but he leave immediately warning has still been issued for several areas in the state of queensland the outbreak of bushfires has already claimed 3 lives so the headlines keep it here on al-jazeera and sad stories next. french president raises eyebrows by describing they thought was brain dead is the airlines weakening can europe create an alternative this isn't on story. hello welcome to the show i'm sammy's a than nato is experiencing brain death so says french president emanuel micro-loan many of his european partners in the alliance certainly don't agree though they call is words drastic and dangerous and.

it has made massive bushfires even worse in new south wales and queensland. and in zimbabwe, in southern africa, serious drought is threatening both urban and rural life. the bbc‘s stephen sackur has been there. when the zambezi river is in full flow, you can see why the explorer david livingstone called it "a view for the angels." but look at the falls now. this is what southern africa's prolonged drought means. the volume of water is down by two thirds. here we are at this viewpoint. yes. it's called the horseshoe falls viewpoint, but there's no falls? yes, steve. the change in — the low falls, they're becoming more frequent. who knows — maybe one year there'll be no fall completely, no water. two hours north of victoria falls is hwange national park, a land dying of thirst. hwange has the largest concentration of elephants in all of africa. i don't know if you can see, but there's a group of elephants just over there. now, each elephant needs about 300 kg of food a day. in a drought like this, and you can see how dry it is, that means they're constantly on

there is also the threat further north in queensland, that very much today, the focus is here in newfacing this unprecedented push fire emergency. temperatures are expected to soar to about 38 celsius, strong winds are predicted, low humidity on top of all of that the ground here is absolutely bone dry because of a long—standing drought. so firefighters right across eastern australia are preparing for this expect that onslaught. and later in the programme we'll be hearing more about the fires in new south wales from carol sparks, mayor of glen innes severn council, where two people have lost their lives and dozens of homes have been destroyed. also making news today: the un's nuclear watchdog, the iaea, has confirmed that iran has re—started enriching uranium at its underground site at fordow, south of tehran. this is a fresh breach of commitments iran gave in the international nuclear deal which the us has abandoned. the british, french and german governments have said they're extremely concerned by the development. in britain, the brexit party says it won't now contest around 300 s

to the north across the border in queensland, there are more than 60.vourable here in new south wales. but the situation to the north in queensland, the fire conditions there are deteriorating. so the bushfire crisis that spans two states here in eastern australia is continuing. victoria derbyshire has a special election programme today , let's find out what's happening in her programme at ten: we are going to try something today that we don't reckon has been tried on live tv before, so bear with us. we are going to conduct a live focus group on airwith we are going to conduct a live focus group on air with these lovely voters from group on air with these lovely vote rs from across group on air with these lovely voters from across the country, all of whom have yet to decide who they are voting for in this election, apart from one man, who decided on the train down last night. he told us this morning. focus groups are often used by political parties to gauge how people are thinking, what their priorities are and what they make of party leaders. all our v

australian authorities declare a state of emergency in both new south wales and queensland.comes after warnings that bushfires in the country could also pose a ‘catastrophic‘ threat to sydney. strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity is predicted in the coming days, meaning the crisis is far from over. the president of bolivia, evo morales, has resigned after nearly 1a years in power. the head of the army had called on him to go following last month's disputed election victory which sparked widespread protests. now on bbc news...dateline london hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie. this week... we devote most of the programme to discussing europe, since the fall of the berlin wall. but we'll leave a few minutes at the end, to distil week one of a british election campaign. my guests today, stephanie baker of bloomberg news. italian journalist, annalisa piras. author and long—time correspondent for die welt, thomas kielinger. political commentator alexander nekrassov. 9th november 1989. the day the berlin wall came down. those who poured across it m

at least three people have died in the fires in new south wales and queensland.n has the latest. the scale and ferocity of these fires is clear. this is new south wales on the east coast of australia, being ravaged by the flames. three days since the wildfires began, they're still burning and spreading. more than 1,000 firefighters are working across this state and queensland to try and contain them, but conditions are difficult. it's just the worst thing i've ever seen, honestly. the fire front is coming at us. there's nothing you could do about it. lost a few friends in the fire, lost a few possessions. possessions are nothing. it's the people that count, eh. the devastating power of these fires is clear to see. this used to be what someone called home. now there's nothing left. 150 homes have so far been destroyed and thousands of people have had to evacuate. australia's prime minister says he's proud of how people have helped each other. people have reached out, got people out of homes, made sure they got to safety, looked after each other‘s livestock and ani

a state of emergency is declared in new south wales and queensland, with warnings that bushfires in australia could pose a catastrophic threat to sydney. spain's second general election this year fails to break the political deadlock, with the socialists topping the poll without an outright majority. british steel is set to announce a 90 million dollar rescue from a chinese company that could save up to four thousand jobs a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business, and sport. also in the programme: amazon's head scientist says alexa could one day become an "active companion" that can see and even walk around the home. what do you think? is this a thrill or a threat? are you a fan of digital assistants? tell us what you think — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. we begin in hong kong. police in hong kong have used live ammunition at pro—democracy demonstrations and shot one protestor at close range. protesters had called for a general strike on monday and have been trying to disrupt transport in hong kong by setting up barricades. shocking

far not materialised, but at least 70 fires are still burning uncontained in new south wales and queensland opposition senator in bolivia, jeanine anez, has declared herself interim president. the former leader, evo morales, was forced to resign on sunday and has fled to mexico — he's been granted political asylum. the new presidential appointment has not been formally approved by congress. now on bbc news, hardalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm zeinab badawi. malaysia has one of asia's most vibrant economies — the result of decades of stability and economic growth. it's also a multi—ethnic, multi—religious federation — but the majority ethnic muslim malays dominate the country politically. are racial and religious divides now threatening malaysia's stability and future prospects? there is growing concern that such tensions have been getting worse since a new government took office last year. my my guest is malaysia's minister for islamic affairs, mujahid yusof rawa. minister mujahid yusof rawa, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. how serious are the current religious tensions we are seein

australian authorities declare a state of emergency in both new south wales and queensland.comes after warnings that bushfires in the country could also pose a ‘catastrophic‘ threat to sydney. strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity is predicted in the coming days, meaning the crisis is far from over. the president of bolivia, evo morales, has resigned after nearly 1a years in power. the head of the army had called on him to go following last month's disputed election victory which sparked widespread protests. now on bbc news it's hardtalk with stpehen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. for many filmmakers and filmgoers movies are about escapism and entertainment. look at the listings in your local cinema and you'll see what i mean. but not so for my guest today. one of the most lauded and durable directors in the uk film industry — ken loach. he has made 27 films, he has won the biggest prize at cannes twice, and yet his films are the very opposite of escapism. his latest is an unrelenting, bleak take on the exploitation of workers in the so—called gi

could be called upon to support firefighters who are currently tackling more than 100 fires in queensland and new south wales. prime minister scott morrison said the military could be called upon to support firefighters who are currently tackling more than 100 fires in queensland and new south wales. now, it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. after all the rain we've had to contend to with this week, today is our chance to draw breath. through this afternoon, it stays predominantly dry with some spells of sunshine. still one or two showers peppering northern scotland and eastern coastal counties of england, some patches of cloud elsewhere, but for most, it will be blue skies overhead. the winds relatively light, so even with temperatures ofjust six to 11 celsius, it won't feel too bad out there. however, cloud will take on a northern ireland later, we'll see outbreaks of rain here this evening. as that rain gets into scotland, we'll see snow developing over high ground, could well see a covering of snow, say, above 250 metres. some wintriness over the hills of the penn

fire crews are battling dozens of inferno is raging across queensland in new south wales the states are experiencing a long winning drought and it's feared the fires will continue to burn unless rain finally comes forth or just say of a hotter and faster than anything they've seen before. unfortunately we are in uncharted territory this afternoon we've never seen this many thought concurrently mergence the warning alert level we've got not any falls across new south walls 50 of them remind can time. satellite images show even scale of the bushfires from space cameras capture of a plea of smoke the fires have consumed thousands of hectares of farmland in bush. one of the devastated areas is an important breeding ground for koalas it's estimated that $350.00 of the animals were burnt alive here as show 2 is caring for those koalas rescued from the fire zone many suffered burns climbing down from smouldering trees here they are being nursed back to health. they have a start in victims of fire experts believe the blazes in australia may have killed millions of animals. you're watching d.w.

there are still more than 100 fires burning across queensland and new south wales.still out of control. as we keep hearing, the worst is yet to come. 0n tuesday, australia is expecting conditions, high temperatures, strong winds, we are talking high—temperature is of around a0 degrees and the fire threat extends to right across the state. we are talking about the outskirts of syd ney talking about the outskirts of sydney at risk of bushfire. that is huge levels of population, potentially at risk. we did speak with ben shepherd from the new south wales rural fire service just a short time ago. he spoke a little bit about that message for people to get prepared now because come tuesday, the resources might be so stretched that if they call for help, that help might not arrive. we are talking about a massive area here now that we are with. some 6 or 700,000 hectares of bushland that is alight so we are having to deal with that ahead of these worsening conditions on tuesday. we need people to obviously understand that when they do ask for assistance that a fire truck ma